For the Greater Good
by RM2
Summary: Lord Voldemort's rescue by Peter Pettigrew is thwarted shortly after he casts the Avada Kedavra curse on Lily Potter causing his downfall. To ensue that Pure-blood uprising never occurs again, new laws are enacted for the "Greater Good." The laws have a profound affect on wizarding world and Ron and Hermoine's lives.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N - **This is my first attempt at a fan fiction. I've read so many and thought I would write my own. This one is meant to be humorous and satirical. And yes... there is romance between Ron and Hermoine who will eventually be the main characters of this AU _love_ story. The love don't come easy in this one but it's meant to be a funny, bumpy ride along the way. The story is rated M for adult themes and content.

**Disclaimer - I do not own Harry Potter**

Chapter One – Too Little, Too Late

Severus Snape viciously kicks down the front door and enters what is left of James and Lily Potter's house. There is thick putrid smoke everywhere. With each breathe his eyes water and his nostrils burn as the foul mixture of smoke and soot fills his lungs. He strains his ears for any sign of life and it is then he hears a faint cry coming from upstairs. The thought of Lily possibly being alive, possibly surviving the attack or in the process of fighting off the Dark Lord, spurs him on. I'm coming my love! Hoping against hope that Lily is still alive, Snape rushes up the stairway, taking two steps at a time. His wand is at the ready, planning to strike down the Dark Lord, if necessary, to save Lily Potter. Halfway up the stairs Snape feels something crunch beneath his left foot. He quickly lifts his foot and braces himself, preparing to do battle with Merlin knows what. When no attack comes he tentatively reaches down to poke at whatever is under his foot with his wand. His wand touches something and he recoils, again bracing for an attack. Nothing happens. With a bit more confidence he reaches down with his left hand and feels what is underneath the tip of his wand. It is flesh! A face to be exact! "Lily? He whispers. "Is that you? Am I too late? Oh my love." He groans caressing her hair, her face... "Wait! Lily doesn't wear glasses!" Realizing any type of illumination spell would be futile in this thick smoke, he bends down for a closer look. Why it's James Potter! He feels around for a pulse. There is none... He's dead! "Yessss! He's dead! Thank you Dark Lord! Ha! Ha! Now to Avada Kadava your Dark Lord arse, rescue the girl, and win her heart! The little brat can go to a boarding school..."

With a smirk Snape stomps on James' Potter face before continuing his arduous climb to the second floor. When he reaches the top landing Snape peers around. The air is clearer on the second floor because of a big gaping hole where the roof used to be on the right side of the house. Hence most of the smoke in this part of the house has dissipated into the crisp fall sky. The moonlight from the full moon casts an eerie glow to everything it touches. He looks towards a door at the end of the hallway where he can hear scuffling and the Dark Lord's husky voice along with Lily's high pitched screams. From behind the door he hears, "Avada Kadava!" followed by a scream and a loud thud. He then hears a shrill wail, a swoosh of wind and green smoke begins to pour from beneath the door. Next he hears faint crying. Could it be? Oh Sweet Merlin! Is Lily still alive? Snape moves rapidly down the hallway wand ready to duel it out with the Dark Lord as he kicks in the door!

"Avada Kada... What?!" Snape spins around. "Where's the Dark Lord? Where's Lily? Ewww! What's that horrible smell?" Just then he notices the source of the crying he heard. There stands little Harry Potter in his crib clinging to the top rail. Tears are in his eyes, and from the smell of him, a wet poopie nappy is drooping from his bum. Oh no! Snape backs away in disgust, nostrils flaring. He uses his left arm to cover his nose while keeping his wand steady and frantically looking around the room, trying to see through the green haze.

Harry reaches up his arms to him. "Oh no, you James Potter look-a-like in a stank nappy! I'm not picking you up. Not with you smelling like that..." Harry plops down in his crib and reaches out his arms again through the rails. It is then that Snape's attention is drawn to the floor in front of Harry's crib.

"Lily? Lily? Is that you?" He stares at her lifeless body and realizes he is too late. Uncovering his nose Snape wails and drops to the floor on both knees. He scoops up Lily's lifeless body and hugs her to him. "Lily! Lily!" He cries, lightly caressing her cheek and kissing the top of her head.

"Lily! Oh Lily! I'm too late! I'm too late!" _The Dark Lord will pay for this!_ Snape vows. _Where is he? Where is the Dark Lord? Why did he kill James and Lily Potter and yet leave little Harry unscathed? Was it the poopie nappy that saved little Harry? Oh that's preposterous! The Dark Lord has no nose after all._ It is then Snape notices the Dark Lord's robe and his wand lying on the floor. The robe is smoldering and there are little plumes of green smoke rising from it. Snape can make out some faint movement from underneath the robe. He reaches out tentatively to lift the robe up but a rat jumps out from nowhere and tries to bite his hand.

Snape quickly jerks his hand back to avoid the rat's sharp teeth. "Stupify!" The rat is successfully immobilized." Incarcerous!" Snape ties up the rat and flings it against the wall with his wand.

"What the deuce! James Potter has his wife and child living in a rat infested hovel? It's an outrage!" Just then Harry emits a pitiful whimper from inside his crib, drawing Snape's attention away from the smoldering robe.

_Oh no! There's no way I'm touching that baby. His nappy could be lethal! If it was strong enough to reduce the Dark Lord to green smoke, no telling what it could do to me. I'm leaving him for the Aurors. _With that Snape stands up lifting Lily Potter's body with him. _I refuse to leave her body here to be ravished by rodents!_ He holds her tightly to him and, Apparates to Diagon Alley. Once he is certain the coast is clear, Snape walks into the Leaky Cauldron holding Lily Potter in his arms. " Room for two adults," he orders the desk clerk. The desk clerk warily eyes Lily Potter's limp body, "firewhiskey makes 'em frisky", Snape sneers. "She don't look frisky to me mate. In fact, she looks the opposite of frisky, if you ask me." The desk clerk replies. "Well, nobody asked you!" Snape retorts. The desk clerk shrugs and hands him a room key. "Oh, and I need to rent an owl. I'll come back for it once we get... settled." The desk clerk nods.

Room key in hand; Snape slowly walks to his room gently carrying Lily's still body. Once inside the room he tenderly lays her on the bed. He then quickly marches back to the front desk to rent an owl. Owl in hand, he sends an urgent message addressed to Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Snape then returns to his room to properly pay his final respects to Lily Potter.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N – **This one is a bit serious due to the grave subject matter.

**Disclaimer - I do not own Harry Potter**

Chapter Two

For the Love of Lily

"Headmaster, be reasonable!"

"No Severus. It is you who must be reasonable. Tell me the whereabouts of Lily Potter. Time, I'm afraid, is running out."

"You promised me you would protect her." Snape wailed. "You failed!" He shouted pointing an accusatory finger at Dumbledore. "She is dead! My sweet Lily is dead!" Severus breaks down and cries. Hiding his head in his hands and slumping in his chair. He pulls out a handkerchief, blows his nose into it and absentmindedly views the contents.

"Yes, I can understand how you might feel betrayed in all of this." Dumbledore rises from his desk. He grasps his hands behind his back as he paces. "However, there is was bigger picture you did not see…"

Severus' head snaps up. "And you did?" His piercing eyes stare into Dumbledore's tired ones. "You saw the bigger picture and you said nothing to me? You led me to believe you would protect her. Instead, you just let her die" He hissed.

Dumbledore gently chastised, "I did not let Lily die Severus. Lily Potter chose to die. She felt she had to sacrifice herself. It was the only way, to save her baby and defeat Voldemort."

"How do you know all this?"

"Lily consulted with me on several occasions. She wanted to learn all she could about Old Magic and Love Magic. And then of course there was the prophesy"

"Yes, the prophesy. It sounded like something Sybil Trelawney would prophesize"

"Well actually yes, it was Trelawney."

"What?! You and almost all of our wizarding world, including Voldemort, believed in a prophesy uttered by _'You are in grave danger'_ Trelawney?"

"Yes."

"That's preposterous! She gets her prophesies from watching old Muggle movies she practically told me so herself at one of our socials. Get enough firewhiskey into that witch and she bares her soul "

"That's not all she bares," shudders Dumbledore

"What?"

"Be that as it may…when she made this prophesy I took it to the Unspeakables at the Ministry of Magic and they deemed her prophesy about Voldemort's demise to be valid. In fact, they placed it in the Hall of Prophesies. So you see Severus, I had to let things run their course. I knew it would be unwise to tamper with fate."

Severus sniffed, "Perhaps you're right. It's just so unfair". He sobs into his now soiled handkerchief and wipes his eyes on one of the corners.

Dumbledore gently squeezes Severus's shoulder. "This is a war Severus. Never lose sight of that. Dumbledore returns to his chair behind his desk opposite Severus." And it isn't over yet."

"What do you mean? The Dark Lord is dead is he not? "

"No he is not"

"But, I saw the smoldering robes…"

"He is still alive, a mere shadow of a wizard, but, alive nonetheless. "

"How can this be? "

"How can this be indeed! We are all equally perplexed. "

"After receiving your owl I went to the Potters' house accompanied by several Aurors. We found James Potter, the baby and the rat, just as you described in your message. Incidentally, James Potter had a heel mark on his face. We found this rather odd as the Killing Curse is not known to leave marks…"

"I might have tripped and accidentally kicked him in the face on my way up the stairs", Severus sputtered.

"Yes. Well, when we arrived in the baby's room we found the rat tied up and unconscious on the floor and little Harry in a fitful sleep in his crib. Then we noticed Voldermort's robes lying on the floor and something wiggling beneath them. We carefully lifted up the robes and to our surprise there was Voldemort. Or what was left of him. "

"I am shocked!

"That is not all that is shocking. The rat turned out to be none other than Peter Pettigrew. Did you know he was an Anamagus?"

"No. I did not, although being a rat suits him."

"Turns out he is the one who betrayed the Potters. We found the Dark Mark on his forearm."

"I did not know he was a Death Eater Head Master. Had I known, I would have told you."

Dumbledore raised his hand to silence Severus. "We took all three of them to St. Mungo's. Little Harry is being treated for a severe case of diaper rash. There is a curious mark on his forehead; you didn't by any chance happen to _'trip'_ while you were standing over his crib?"

"No! Of course not!

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow and continued.

"Pettigrew is recovering from a concussion and is currently unconscious. The Healers expect him to wake up tomorrow."

"Voldemort is barely alive. He is being fed a potion consisting of goat's milk, water, cane sugar and centaur urine."

"Can the Dark Lord talk?"

"Yes, but, barely. We spoon-fed him Veritaserum and asked him how he survived the Killing Curse. He spoke one word and passed out."

"What was that one word?"

"I cannot tell you."

"Why not?"

"As I said earlier, it's best not to intervene with fate. I'm afraid by your entering the Potters' home when you did; you altered the course of history for our world."

"How do you know? How do you know it wasn't _**supposed** _to work out this way?"

"Trelawney told me and it has been verified by the Unspeakables. It was part of a new prophesy."

"Oh Bother! A new prophesy you say. I suppose I shall never know the contents of that prophesy either. Just like I'll never know the one word the Dark Lord uttered while under influence of the Veritaserum."

"In time you will know both. Everything will be revealed to you when the time is right. However, I want no more intervening on your part. You were told to stay at home and let the Aurors handle it. Yet you took matters into your own hands with grave results. "

"I couldn't let him harm Lily if I could help it."

"Which brings us back to the matter at hand. You must tell me the whereabouts of Lily Potter's body. I am going to need your help in the future if we are to win the battle ahead. And I do not fancy having to break you out of Azkaban to get it." Dumbledore pauses, rises from his chair and starts pacing again.

"For now, no one but me knows you were at the Potter home last night. I did not tell the Aurors you sent me that owl. Nor do they know the contents of your message. However, a desk clerk at the Leaky Cauldron told the Aurors that he let a room last night to you and a witch who fits Lily Potter's description. He said you bragged about getting her drunk with firewhiskey."

"Well… I may have said something to that effect, but let me explain…"

Dumbledore holds up a hand silencing Severus.

"Upon close examination of Voldemort's wand we discovered he cast the Killing Curse twice last night. One curse killed James Potter. However, we do not know who the recipient of the second Killing Curse was. We can only speculate. And one speculation has it that Severus Snape, a known Death Eater, accompanied Voldemort to the Potter home. Upon entering the home, a vicious fight ensued between Severus Snape and James Potter. At one point during the fight Severus Snape gained the upper-hand and kicked James Potter in the face. Voldemort finished James Potter off using the Killing Curse and then proceeded upstairs to little Harry's room with Severus Snape in tow. Peter Pettigrew was in the room with Lily. Having had a change of heart he came to warn the Potters that Voldemort was on his way. Peter was prepared to help Lily fight Voldemort. When Severus and Voldemort arrived, Peter Pettigrew quickly turned himself into a rat. Severus Snape thinking Pettigrew was indeed an actual rat stupefied him, tied him up and viciously flung him against the wall. Severus then grabbed and restrained Lily Potter while Voldemort cast the Killing Curse at little Harry Potter. However, the Killing Curse back-fired on Voldemort, reducing him to a blithering glob of a wizard. Severus Snape panicked, Apparated with Lily to the Leaky Cauldron, plied her with drinks, and let a room to have his way with her. Once his appetites were sated, he killed her and destroyed her body."

Dumbledore then firmly places a Daily Prophet in front of Snape. The headlines read, "**_Professor Severus Snape being Sought for Questioning in Connection with the Disappearance of Lily Potter. Hide Your Children, Hide Your Wife!_**

After quickly scanning the article Severus sets the paper down and implores Dumbledore, "If the Aurors knew the contents of the message I sent you, they would know that none of what is written in this article is true."

"We examined the room you let at the Leaky Cauldron. There were no sheets on the bed. Why Severus? Tell me where Lily is buried and I promise I will give the Aurors the message you sent me. Otherwise, how do I know I can trust you?"

Severus sat silently for a while before answering. "He stole her from me, James Potter did. Lily was mine. Not his. James Potter was a pompous insufferable know-it-all. He and his mates tortured me at every turn. And you and your teaching staff knew and did nothing about it!" Severus spat bitterly.

"Sometimes our peers are our best teachers Severus. You were, shall we say, lacking in the social graces. I thought the teasing they gave you would prompt you to change. I directed the teaching staff not to intervene. Sadly, I fear, I was wrong."

"I wasn't good-looking or rich. All I had was my brains and my potion-making skills. I felt that was enough to win her heart. We had history, her and me. We grew up together. We were best mates. Then she came to Hogwarts, met James Potter and everything changed. He stole her."

"A little bit of personal hygiene goes a long way too Severus. You can't woo a girl when she smells you before she sees you. It gives her enough time to run away." Dumbledore quipped weakly.

Severus continues, "I was so angry with her. She chose him over me. I called her a Mudblood and sought refuge in the Dark Arts to forget her. But it didn't work. I still love her."

Severus Snape sniffed and wiped his nose again with his hanky.

"What will happen if I don't return her?"

"You will most likely be tried for kidnapping and murder and sentenced to Azkaban."

"That's so unfair! I helped defeat the Dark Lord! He and Peter Pettigrew would have gotten away if it wasn't for me!"

"Severus, you are a Death Eater are you not? Who is going to believe that you were there to save Lily Potter a Muggle-born? Very few people know of your history."

Severus said softly, "My family owns several burial plots in Brockwood Cemetery in Surrey, just south of _Little Whinging_." You'll find her buried in the plot next to my mother's and to the right of the plot where I am to be buried one day. The tombstone reads, _'Here Lies Sweet Lily Evans, I Will Love You Always.'_ I used the bed sheets from the room I let to serve as a make-shift coffin."

"Thank you, Severus." Dumbledore patted him gently on the shoulder. "You did the right thing telling me where she is buried. There are those who seek to lock you up in Azkaban or at the very least in the ward at St Mungo's Hospital right next to the Longbottoms. Therefore, it's best you take a nice long holiday while I sort things out. Take all the time you require to heal and move on from this. Do not try to contact me. It's not safe. Here, take this."

Dumbledore hands Severus what appears to be silver cigarette lighter.

"What is it?"

"It is a Deluminator. When the time is right for you to return, You will hear it call your name. Click it and a bright white light will appear. Let that light enter your chest and Apparate. It will bring you to me. Oh, and you can also use it to turn lights on and off."

"Thank you, Headmaster."

**A/N**

Thank you for the Reviews! A draft of Chapter 3 is already written. I will post it soon!


End file.
